1. Field
This disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing zinc oxide nanowires.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nanowires are ultrafine wires whose diameter is in the range of several to several hundreds of nanometers, and whose length is several hundred nanometers or on the order of micrometers or millimeters. Nanowires exhibit various physical properties depending on their diameter and length. Nanowires can be used to fabricate a variety of micro-devices using their small size, and have advantages due to their inherent directional electron mobility characteristics and optical properties, such as polarization.
At present, extensive research on nanowires is actively underway owing to their wide potential applications in next-generation electronic and photonic devices. Micro-devices using nanowires can provide several nanometers of circuit linewidth and is thus expected to realize a high degree of circuit integration. Accordingly, a great deal of study is being actively made on mass-production, alignment and highly-integrated array techniques for nanowires.
In particular, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, as functional Group II-VI semiconductor nanomaterials which have a wide direct band gap of 3.37 eV and a large exciton binding energy of 60 mV, are drawing a great deal of attention for various semiconductor and photo applications.
In terms of applications of nanowires, alignment degree is one of important factors that determine the performance and integration degree of devices. Generally, the growth direction of ZnO nanowires is determined by crystal factors of the substrate. When ZnO nanowires are grown on an amorphous substrate, they are grown in random directions. Accordingly, control over growth direction of ZnO nanowires greatly affects applications of ZnO nanowires. A great deal of research is being made to accomplish growth direction control.